in another life
by wild wolf free17
Summary: drabbles in a genderswap AU for the Leverage crew
1. Chapter 1

Title: in another life

Disclaimer: not my characters

Warnings: references to violence; mostly pre-pilot

Pairings: Eliot/Damien Moreau, Maggie/Nate

Rating: PG

Wordcount: 500

Point of view: third

Prompt: Leverage, any, they're all gender-swapped

* * *

Sebastian retires after his fortieth birthday (the one nobody knows is his). It's still fun but there's no one he trusts enough at his back anymore. He still keeps up with the old crowd and the chatter, and he finds a nice quiet city in the States and goes back to his roots: theatre. He tries to put aside all of his masks and become – well, that's the thing, isn't it?

He barely remembers who Laurence was, that stupid boy. Sebastian is better at just about everything, but sometimes… sometimes, he does miss Laurence so much.

.

Eliot's favorite thing is when the goons underestimate her. Not only is she a woman, she's also kinda small. That's two strikes against her.

She loves it.

See, the thing is, she's quick and precise, and she smirks as they go down, one after the other. If they'd rushed her all at once, then maybe – but of course they didn't.

"I love watching you work," Damien says, leaning against the wall.

Eliot grins at him, wiping blood off her cheek.

.

Parker knows there's a lot of things he doesn't know. But there's also things no one knows better than he does. He likes shiny things, and hard-to-get-to things, and things other people have. He also likes money.

Archie gave him a home all to himself and trained him on safes and lasers and alarms, and when Parker was about eighteen (they guessed) Archie said, "Well, I've taught you all I can." Parker thinks he might've been angry and hurt but he's not sure, and anyway, Archie had already given him more than anyone else ever had.

It's been ten years since then and Parker still has a home all to himself, and it's full of stuff that's his and also money. Sometimes, he even steals things to prove he can and then puts them back just because he can do that, too.

.

"Oh, Nana would be _furious_," Alecia mutters, deftly sidestepping a trap in the code. Nana had told her there was a whole world waiting for girls as good at computers as Alecia, and, yeah, she was right about that. But Alecia is pretty damn sure this is not what Nana meant.

"I got you now," she tells all of the pretty little bits of information. The CIA ain't nothing compared to her.

.

When Sam dies, Natalie feels part of her die, too. Mark is heartbroken but he doesn't know that Sam could've been saved, and Jim is hurting for them, Natalie can tell, but he doesn't know either, and after the funeral, after Sammy is in the ground where she can never hold him again – the pain and the despair begin to harden into something that Natalie Ford hasn't felt in a long time.

She drinks to hide it, to dampen it, to ignore it.

And then Dubenich uses her son. For the first time in years, Natalie's rage has a target and she focuses in.

The bastard really should've just paid them.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: in another life

Disclaimer: not my characters

Warnings: violence

Pairings: Eliot/Damien Moreau

Rating: PG  
Wordcount: 325

Point of view: third

Prompt: Leverage, Eliot, hands stained red with blood

* * *

The worst thing Eliot ever does in her life, she does for Damien Moreau.

She started working for him as a bodyguard and then began moving up until she was his chief enforcer, his favorite tool. She started for the pay, stayed for the thrill, and then – well, he's charming. Elegant. She fell in love. Stupid, Mama would've said. _You stupid girl, you know the kind of man he is_.

Eliot knew the whole time. So many terrible things she's done, under orders or for money or just to survive.

Damien asks her to and so she does, and afterwards, before even reporting it done, she just looks at her hands. They aren't shaking. They aren't even splattered in red. They're just… hands. Her hands. And they'll never be clean again.

She goes home, to Damien's office where he's waiting, and she says, "I'm done."

No one walks away from Damien Moreau. No one except Eliot Spencer.

.

Parker asks, "What did you do?" His head is tilted to the side, his shoulders tucked in, his hair even longer than Eliot's. He's so damaged and yet so innocent, and Eliot wants to keep him safe.

She says, "Don't ask me that, Parker. Because if you ask, I'll tell you." She would, too. She's been hiding this truth for six months and she's so tired. She wants them away from this, away from Damien. Alecia is still dripping water because Eliot had to play Damien's game, and Natalie is looking at Eliot like she's never seen her before.

Of course she hasn't. Eliot Spencer walked away from Damien Moreau and changed everything about herself.

She walked away. She didn't scorch the earth behind her because he let her go. And now… she looks at Parker and Alecia, at Natalie and Sebastian, and she chooses.

Eliot Spencer doesn't ask forgiveness because she will never earn it. All she can do is protect the team until her dying day.


End file.
